When teaching one specific concept, such as addition, there are an infinite number of ways to teach students how to master a skill. Additionally, students may bring different experiences and backgrounds to the classroom, increasing the diverse number of ways that a teacher can, and may have to, use to teach each individual concept in a classroom curriculum.
When it comes to teaching instructional techniques, however, most college students majoring in education will find themselves taking numerous instruction and methods courses throughout their college careers. In regards to some instructional techniques and curriculum fields, a couple of courses or a week-long unit in a course does not even begin to train a teacher in these techniques. Some curriculum and instructional systems and philosophies require entire degree programs in order to begin to understand them.
However, finding some of these degree programs can be a challenge. Certain curriculum and instruction programs, while important to the teachers, schools, and student populations they serve, are only offered at the bachelor's degree level at select schools registered with the College Board. According to the College Board, these programs are available at fewer than one hundred colleges and universities, making them uncommon and hard to find at most institutions.
College Teacher Education Programs – Student Populations
At any level of education, there are some student populations who have been found to benefit from varied and different instructional approaches. Additionally, some student populations have different needs from those of other students and may also have a need for different skills at various stages in their education.
While readily found as a graduate degree, an undergraduate program in adult and continuing education helps to prepare future teachers to work with adult students, whether through remedial programs, career training programs, vocational school districts, or for adults who need career counseling. Since adults may already possess basic skills and need help mastering such skills like reading and writing, or may simply need to be brought up to date in their knowledge, students in adult and continuing education degree programs learn how to build upon an adult student's prior knowledge of that skill and help them move towards mastering it.
Throughout the United States and Canada, only eight colleges and universities offer undergraduate degrees in adult and continuing education, including Pennsylvania State University – University Park, and Prescott College.
Two more student populations require special attention due to cultural and linguistic differences. Programs in American Indian education prepare college students to be teachers and administrators at schools on American Indian reservations, or in areas where schools have large populations of American Indian students. Students in American Indian education programs not only learn traditional classroom and instructional skills, but also learn the cultures, histories, and traditions of American Indian groups. Courses in educational administration, distance learning, and American Indian politics are also included in program requirements.
Only four colleges and universities in the United States and Canada offer programs in American Indian education. These schools are the College of St. Scholastica, Northeastern State University, Northwest Indian College, and the University of British Columbia.
Bilingual education programs not only require that students learn to become teachers, but also to be able to master a foreign language and be able to teach in that language. Bilingual education majors can expect to spend a large amount of time in field experience courses, using the language and teaching skills learned in college courses in real life classrooms teaching students who may not use English as their primary language. Fifty colleges and universities offer undergraduate degree programs in bilingual education, including Boston University.
Undergraduate Education Degrees in Curriculum and Instructional Methods
Curriculum and instruction degrees are typically offered at the master or doctoral levels, but may be found at undergraduate levels of study at some colleges and universities. Students who earn undergraduate degrees in curriculum and instruction may work for school districts to plan curricula for specific subjects and grade levels, or may work in education in places outside of the traditional school district.
Undergraduate students majoring in curriculum and instruction can expect to learn about what students learn and how information is taught to them. Additionally, curriculum and instruction majors may also take courses in trade books, instructional technology, educational curriculum standards, and educational psychology. Students also learn how to assess students, conduct proper assessments, and how to use these results to measure the success of an instructional methods or materials.
Fourteen colleges and universities offer undergraduate programs in curriculum and instruction, including Prescott College.
For students interested in both education and technology, a degree in instructional technology may lead to an interesting and exciting career. Students in instructional technology majors learn about different types of technology that can be used in the classroom, such as interactive boards, distance learning, teleconferencing, and educational software. Additionally, students will learn how to assess elementary and secondary school students using technology.
Fifteen colleges and universities offer undergraduate degrees in instructional technology, including Saint Cloud State University.
For education majors looking to learn alternative ways of teaching students, a degree in Waldorf/Steiner education may be the training and exposure that an education major needs to try new instructional methods in the classroom. Waldorf methods include focusing on the student's whole development and using creativity to master skills, as well as using intellectual development as a way to help a student grow socially. Steiner instructional methods are similar to Waldorf methods and were developed by the Australian scientist Rudolf Steiner in the early 1900s as a way for social reform, says the University of Michigan.
Only one college registered with the College Board, Prescott College, offers a degree program in Waldorf/Steinger education.
Undergraduate Degrees in PreK-12 School Counseling
While degrees and certifications to be a guidance counselor can be widely found at the graduate school level, finding such a program for undergraduates is harder. Students who are majoring in counselor education can expect to learn how to spot learning disorders, home and family issues, counsel students in regards to personal and professional concerns, and to understand educational law in regards to handling a student's personal crises, instructional limitations, privacy laws, and other student protection measures.
Seven colleges and universities offer undergraduate degrees in counselor education, including Marshall University.
Regardless of what a student chooses to focus on in his or her major, students majoring in education can be prepared for an intense program involving roles both as a student and a teacher. For students who are willing to take the time and make the lifelong investment in helping children develop and grow, any major in education will help these future teachers be better prepared for a classroom of their own.
Sources
- "Major: Adult and Continuing Education" The College Board. Collegeboard.com, accessed 5 March 2011.
- "Major: American Indian Education" The College Board. Collegeboard.com, accessed 5 March 2011.
- "Major: Bilingual Education" The College Board. Collegeboard.com, accessed 5 March 2011.
- "Major: Counselor Education" The College Board. Collegeboard.com, accessed 5 March 2011.
- "Major: Curriculum and Instruction" The College Board. Collegeboard.com, accessed 5 March 2011.
- "Major: Instructional Technology" The College Board. Collegeboard.com, accessed 5 March 2011.
- "Majors and Careers Central" The College Board. Collegeboard.com, accessed 6 September 2010.
- "What Is Steiner Education?" University of Michigan. Umich.edu, accessed 5 March 2011.
Ashley Anderson - Ashley is an Ohio-based writer and editor with specializations in higher education, writing, and social activism.
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